Colorado River, Grand Canyon National ParkThe Colorado River in Marble Canyon at the northeastern end of Grand Canyon National Park, northwestern Arizona.
Colorado River, River, North America. Rising in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, U.S., it flows west and south 1,450 mi (2,330 km) to empty into the Gulf of California in northwestern Mexico. It drains a vast sector of the North American continent, about 246,000 sq mi (637,000 sq km). No other river in the world has cut so many deep trenches, of which the Grand Canyon is the largest and most spectacular. It is important for hydroelectric power and irrigation; more than 20 dams, including Hoover Dam, have been built on the Colorado River and its tributaries.
